Penicillin Can Aid In Sickle Cell Treatment, Doctor Says

June 19, 1986|United Press International

BOSTON -- Penicillin can significantly reduce the risk of deadly infections for children suffering from sickle cell anemia, greatly increasing their chances of surviving into adulthood, a government doctor reported Wednesday.

Children diagnosed early as suffering from the genetic blood disorder and placed on a regimen of the antibiotic had an 85 percent reduction in infections in a new study.

``This is the closest we`ve come to be able to save lives in this illness,`` said Dr. Marilyn Gaston, who headed the study at the National Institutes of Health. ``If we can save babies and get them through the first three years of life, this is a major accomplishment. We`ve never had anything like this before.``

``It has the potential for saving a number of lives of infants with sickle cell anemia,`` said Dr. Charles F. Whitten, president of the National Association for Sickle Cell Disease. ``We feel it`s a major breakthough in terms of preventing early sudden deaths.``

The hereditary disease primarily affects blacks in the United States. One in every 350 black babies born in the United States each year has sickle cell anemia, accounting for some 1,700 new cases annually. There are some 200,000 new cases worldwide each year.

Infants with the disease have a weakened immune system, making them especially prone to infection.

Sickle cell anemia is incurable. But those who survive past age 3 are more likely to live into adulthood.

The disease is caused by a genetic defect that causes some red blood cells, which carry oxygen for the body, to become sickle shaped. These cells function poorly and die quickly, causing victims to weaken easily. The dead cells also accumulate and block blood vessels.

Although some patients can live into their 70s, many die prematurely from complications stemming from clogged vessels.

Based on the study, researchers recommended that all black children undergo a blood test for the disease at birth and begin receiving penicillin immediately if they have the illness.

Gaston stressed that the penicillin doesn`t cure the disease.

``It prevents a severe life-threatening infection. If we can get them past the early years of life they have a better chance of living a fuller life,`` she said.